Ridiculously high quotas set by the French and Spanish governments have seriously depleted adult anchovy stocks. What would the world be like without anchovies? Fox’s Futurama paints a stark portrait.
The minimum amount of anchovies for sustainable fishing is 28,000 tons, but anchovy stocks today hover around 19,000 tons. In response to the Association of Spanish Artisanal Fishermen and Oceana‘s pressure, the European Commission banned anchovy fishing in the Bay of Biscay until Dec. 31.
Futurama fans will appreciate the episode “A Fishful of Dollars.” Fry finds himself a rich man, but blows all his money on the last known can of anchovies in existence. Skip ahead to seven and a half minutes to start the anchovy story line, and keep an eye out for a special appearance (sort of) by Oceana’s board member Ted Danson.
